New at Texans games: Southern Star beer, Bottoms Up dispensers

The Texans have added two local stars to their football roster for this season: Bombshell Blonde and Pine Belt Pale Ale from Southern Star Brewing Co. in Conroe. Both will be sold for the first time during games at Reliant Stadium, although the Pine Belt will be a little easier to find.

Also making its Houston NFL debut during Monday night’s preseason opener against the Jets will be the Bottoms Up Draft Beer Dispensing System, a high-tech, high-speed beer filler that promises to cut some of the waiting time from concession lines.

And the wildly popular veteran Bud Light returns to the field in 20-ounce draft form at $7, the same price as the last two seasons.

Good news, all. But the best development here for craft-beer fans is the addition of the Southern Star beers. The 3-year-old brewery joins Saint Arnold and Shiner among the Texas contingent in the stadium.

Alison Birdwell, Reliant Park’s general manager for concessionaire Aramark, says fans requested the beers. How they sell will guide future decisions not just for these brews but also for other local offerings.

“We’re just kind of gauging response right now,” Birdwell told me.

Ash Rowell, managing director of Duff Beer Distribution, reports delivering an initial 20 cases of Pine Belt, four cases of Bombshell and four cases of Bear Republic’s Racer 5 IPA, although he adds, “I think the blonde is going to go faster than they expect.”

WHERE TO FIND THEM:

Pine Belt Pale Ale: The 16-ounce cans will sell for $8.50 apiece at the long “ice house” concession lines on either side of the main concourse (behind the sideline seats, as opposed to the end zones) and in the four corner taps on the fifth level.

Bombshell Blonde: The 12-ounce cans will sell for $6.50 in the Barley and Hops areas on the Club Level. That means they will be available only to suite and club-level ticketholders. Same story for fellow Reliant newcomer Racer 5. Birdwell explained that this is in part because this is where the requests for the beers came from. If sales dictate, fans could see Bombshell in other areas of the stadium.

Saint Arnold beers: On draft, 20-ounce pours of Amber and Fancy Lawnmower, plus rotating selections of Elissa IPA and Weedwacker, will sell for $9 in the general concessions in sections 128, 108 and 117 on the first level 1; 323 and 352 on the non-Club third level; and 506 and 536 on the fifth level. The Barley and Hops locations on the Club Level will offer $9 draft and $6.50 bottles of Amber and Lawnmower.

Houstonians no doubt will kick off this football season the same as last year’s — with high hopes for the home team. But if the action on the field starts to lag again, fans may find it worth wandering over to one of the two Bottoms Up dispensers located on the main concourse, near sections 108 and 128.

The Bottoms Up Draft Beer Dispensing System works by filling beer from the bottom, then sealing the metal-lined hole with a magnet. (GrinOn Industries photo)

Birdwell said the Bottoms Up dispensers have been a spectacle at Astros games at Minute Maid Park this season. She said the machines are easy to operate, and so the training emphasis for servers was making sure they can answer questions about the technology and explain to fans how to avoid spilling Bud Light all over their lap.

“The biggest issue,” Birdwell said, “is that people stick their finger in the magnet and the beer comes gushing out.”